Haunted house wears

Minnie Mouse

Materials: Yellow latex gloves, dish towels, black trash bags, paper bags, paper plates, paper towels, duct tape and pins. You'll also need flat shoes, a T-shirt, an old baseball cap and black tights or sweat pants. Method: For hands: Cut a finger off each glove to create "four-finger" cartoon character look. For shirt: Crimp paper towels around neck and sleeves, then outline edges with a black marker to simulate lace. Tear three pieces out of the trash bag and ball up into three buttons for front of shirt. For skirt: Lay dish towels on duct tape, pleating them with pins to keep top even. Remove pins, then fasten skirt in the back with tape. For hat: Use circles cut from plates for ears, then mold black garbage bag around ears and baseball cap (its brim cut off) on a wig holder. Tape bag to inside of hat. For shoes: Cut circles from excess glove material and tape onto shoes for polka dots. Designer: Carol Lenz

Materials: Yellow latex gloves, dish towels, black trash bags, paper bags, paper plates, paper towels, duct tape and pins. You'll also need flat shoes, a T-shirt, an old baseball cap and black tights or sweat pants. Method: For hands: Cut a finger off each glove to create "four-finger" cartoon character look. For shirt: Crimp paper towels around neck and sleeves, then outline edges with a black marker to simulate lace. Tear three pieces out of the trash bag and ball up into three buttons for front of shirt. For skirt: Lay dish towels on duct tape, pleating them with pins to keep top even. Remove pins, then fasten skirt in the back with tape. For hat: Use circles cut from plates for ears, then mold black garbage bag around ears and baseball cap (its brim cut off) on a wig holder. Tape bag to inside of hat. For shoes: Cut circles from excess glove material and tape onto shoes for polka dots. Designer: Carol Lenz

Try these no-cost tricks for turning kitchen clutter into cool costumes. The costume department of the Marriott Theatre in Lincolnshire devised four costumes from everyday items. You can create each one for under $20. -Louis R. Carlozo